Silicon Valley': HBO set to shoot comedy pilot in spring

PASADENA - The recent failure of a Silicon Valley-themed reality show hasn’t deterred HBO from proceeding with plans for a scripted series set in the Bay Area’s tech community.

According to Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, casting will soon begin for “Silicon Valley,” a dark, single-camera comedy pilot to be directed by Mike Judge (“Beavis and Butt-Head,”“King of the Hill,”“Office Space”). Shooting, he said, will likely start in March.

Lombardo claimed that he hadn’t seen “Start-Ups: Silicon Valley,” the Bravo reality series from Randi Zuckerberg that was blasted by some Valley insiders and became a ratings dud. But he admitted that the show’s poor performance might have indirectly benefitted HBO in that it hasn’t muddied the creative waters,

“I was actually sort of glad that it didn’t seem to register very much with viewers,” he said between panel sessions at the Television Critics Association press tour.

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Lombardo said the “Start-Ups” failure, in no way, indicates that there isn’t an audience for Silicon Valley-themed material.

“There’s clearly an interest in what’s going on there,” he said. “What is that subculture and who are those people? It’s a world we all read about and all chat about, yet we don’t really know what it’s like. But at the end of the day, (the show) has got to be funny, it’s got to be interesting and it’s got to be well-done. Hopefully, we’ll hit all those marks.”

According to Lombardo, the “Silicon Valley” pilot will be at least partially shot in the Bay Area.

“You need some of the local color to make it as honest as possible,” he said.